Social Media Guidance

The following best practices and resources have been compiled by the University Marketing and Communications Social Media Team to help any and all social media users on campus—both personal and institutional—create a successful, productive presence in online communities.

The Social Media Policy (PDF) includes several important best practices, several of which are mentioned in brief here (see policy document for additional information). Best practices for social media include a wide variety of considerations including transparency, how to measure for results, photography usage, and more. For helpful information on publishing status updates and links, see our posting recommendations.

Be aware that the university does not use social media as a form of official communication in the event of an emergency or public safety situation. In a crisis situation, accuracy and timing are critical, and the public needs to rely on one official, accurate source for its information. The primary source for Ball State is our website, www.bsu.edu, and our emergency alert system.